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[00:00:02] Paul Lucas: 
Hello everyone, welcome to Insurance Business TV as we celebrate one of our 5-Star Claims award winners. Each year, Insurance Business asks brokers for their feedback on the insurers they believe provide the best claim services to their clients. Of course, the crux of any insurance deal. Among this year's winners was Travelers Insurance Company and we're joined today by its Chief Claims Officer Europe, Judy O'Neill. Judy, welcome to Insurance Business TV. 

[00:00:27] Judy O'Neill: 
Thanks very much. So happy to be here. 

[00:00:36] Paul Lucas: 
So Judy, what does winning this five-star claims award mean for the team and indeed for Travelers at large? 

[00:00:42] Judy O'Neill: 
Oh gosh, we are so very proud to receive this award, especially as it's our second year running. I think what makes it particularly special is that it's voted for by our brokers. So these are the people we work with day in and day out who support us and our mutual customers. So to be recognized by them demonstrates that our efforts to continually focus on our service is really making a difference. 

[00:00:59] Paul Lucas: 
What do you think is making that difference? And what do you think sets your claim service apart from competitors? 

[00:01:04] Judy O'Neill: 
It's our people and the empathy they show to our customers when they need our help and support the most. You look, none of our customers want to use our products. They don't want to have their property damaged. They don't want to be injured. They don't want their business interrupted. So if we can be there to help them along the way on what is usually a very emotional journey, it's having the right people. And I think we have that. You know, our philosophy is to handle all our claims in-house rather than delegating out. I know that some of our competitors do that, but we feel that why would we want to entrust our customers to people we have not recruited or trained or might not share our same values? So it's really important that we handle as many claims as we can. As a specialist insurer, we've worked really hard to train our staff on the industries we support. And I think that enables our staff to be more efficient and be more empathetic. 

[00:01:59] Paul Lucas: 
And talk to us a little bit about the improvements and the innovations that you're making as well in your claims handling. Of course, like you said, you won this award in 2024. You've won it in 2025. Obviously, you're making changes to keep up with the pace. So what's had the biggest impact recently? 

[00:02:14] Judy O'Neill: 
We're always on a continuous journey at living how we improve our service and effectiveness. Something which is not always easy for our staff, right? There's a classic comic strip which asks, who wants change? And all hands go up in the air. And then the next question is, you know, who wants to change and, you know, not so many. So having the right mindset here across our claim organization is key. And through the hard work of our collective team, we have made improvements in how our customers can report claims to us. We have reduced our response times in motor and cyber claims. Through our value-added services team, we are delivering more in-house specialist support for our frontline claims team. Through our dedicated medical case management, we have a subrogation team. We have an expense controls team that makes sure that our customers aren't paying more than they need to for support services. And we're also investing in IT. You know, we're putting in a new Lloyds platform. We're looking at AI where it makes sense. And a number of our products have added the benefit of providing a well-being service. So we're looking at the well-being of our customers as well as on the technical side. So a lot going on. I could go on for a lot longer, but those are some of our key areas that we're focusing on this year. 

[00:03:30] Paul Lucas: 
Obviously, brokers are benefiting from these innovations as well. Just tell us a little bit more about how your claim service is helping brokers to strengthen their relationships with clients. 

[00:03:41] Judy O'Neill: 
Sure. We're often told by our brokers that is the ability to work with them that is key. We are known for having experienced and technically proficient team who are available to speak with them directly. And I know it sounds simple, Paul, but being, you know, contactable and picking up the phone and not hiding behind emails. That keeps our brokers involved in the claim journey and helps them manage the expectations of our customers. It helps them to help us resolve claims as quickly as possible and turn the customer fields valued by both a broker and their insurer. So we try to be transparent in our communication and consistent in how we approach our claims. And on those tough calls where we have to say, something's not covered. We have already developed that relationship with our brokers. 

[00:04:28] Paul Lucas: 
And obviously that path of innovation is set to continue. So just tell us a little bit about how you're going to evolve your claim service to meet those broker and customer needs going forward. 

[00:04:39] Judy O'Neill: 
We are continually looking at doing more that matters. Ways to drive efficiencies using technology enhancements and the use of AI when it's appropriate and makes sense. Basically freeing up time spent on administration tasks, allowing claim professionals to focus on things that matter to our customers. We provide cross-training to help our claim professionals have the broadest career possible, as well as have many opportunities for career advancement. You know, by training our staff on various industries, we ensure they can be sure that they're more empathetic when things go wrong with our insureds. We seek feedback all the time, which sometimes isn't easy, but we try to implement that feedback, you know, and provide the tweaks that are needed. We take continuous improvement very seriously. So, for example, I held a... an entire claim staff meeting yesterday where the theme was claim in motion. The message being that we have to continue to change to meet the needs and expectations of our brokers and customers. So I think all that helps. 

[00:05:42] Paul Lucas: 
That's obviously a fantastic proposition and one that may well be up for honours again in 2026. Judy, many congratulations again to you and the Travelers team. And to all of you watching, we hope to claim your viewership again next time right here on Insurance Business TV. 

[00:05:58] Judy O'Neill: 
Thanks so much, Paul.